February 2004
Industry, Media Construction teams continue to remove the wreckage of the GAOM tower following last month’s structural collapse. No one was thought to have been killed or injured in the collapse, although this was more through luck than judgement. Meanwhile investigations have started as to why the temporary works undertaken to guard against collapse failed and to who is ultimately responsible. Bureaucracy, Industry, Police, Transport The collapse of the GAOM tower has caused a major headache for the newly installed police force, as it struggles to deal with its first major incident in the city. Matters have been further complicated by the planned withdrawal of the Armed Forces, who have now ceded control to the civilian authorities. The principal issue appears to be that the current Police Officers have little to no knowledge about the local area and thus are ill equipped to deal with the mounting traffic problem in the city centre. Add major construction traffic to the mix and it seems that the easiest way to move across the city at the moment is by foot. Health, Industry, Police Witnesses to the GAOM tower collapse have reported hearing gunshots from the tower prior to its collapse. Thermal Imaging equipment has surveyed the area and found no indication of any human presence within the wreckage, despite repeated searches. However, it has been noted by Rescue Workers that the rubble has included some unusual wreckage that does not correlate with the building as it was photographed by the structural / architectural teams prior to the decision to demolish. No explanation as yet been forthcoming. Media, Police, Street Despite the collapse of the GAOM tower, much of the below ground infrastructure of the development remains intact. The Constabulary have set up a series of checkpoints leading into the structure after it emerged that looters were attempting to gain access to the tower following its collapse in order to attempt to salvage items for sale on the Black Market. A lucrative industry has been built around the sale of former Castelan Equipment, even though much of it no longer functions for one reason or another (see the myriad of conspiracy theories for details), despite the best efforts of the police to impound anything to do with the former security force. Bureaucracy, Industry, University Remember the power outage that preceded the collapse of the GAOM tower? It appears that the electricity companies don’t. Whilst the management of said companies admit that they physically witnessed the shutdown (which affected the entire city centre), no record of it exists within the company’s controlling computers. No explanation for this phenomena has yet been discovered (despite the best attempts of professional advisors to find the missing data). Occult, Police Last months power outage should not have affected the remaining Phoenix Towers, as each has an independent power system separate from the city grid. Even more unusual is the fact that a power spike was registered within the GAOM tower, despite the services within the structure being “unplugged” in order to avoid possible fires. Indeed, initial indications are that the spike seems to have originated from the tower, something the authorities seem keen to keep quite. Church, Media, Police, Politics Irony alert! Despite his own appalling track record it would appear that Human Rights Activists are condemning the manner in which Andrew Sant is being kept. According to sources, Sant has been kept in a constantly sedated state since his arrest and is only being revived for visits from either the authorities (for interrogation) or his lawyers. Indeed the earlier comments that Sant had refused legal council appear to have been a fabrication of the authorities who were keen to avoid a scramble to defend the former Head of Castelan. Both The Constabulary and the Armed Forces have refused to comment. Legal, Media, Police Despite all the rumours surrounding the supposed incarceration of Andrew Sant, few have seemed to comment on Sant supposed legal council. Rumours have begun to emerge that Sant has been visited by a number of individuals who bear a striking resemblance to the former Castelan Shock Troops. Indeed, each of these individuals has been investigated by The Constabulary prior to there being allowed access to Sant, for possible involvement in Decembers attempted coup (for which they were cleared of all involvement). So who are these individuals, and for which law firm do they work? Health, Occult, Police Further details of some of the stranger happenings during Decembers “event” have begun to emerge as Forensic Experts strive to carry out all the necessary post mortems. One detail that is causing confusion is the unusual qualities of some of the ammunition that was used by Castelan. Silver, highly pressurised iron and other stranger materials have been found within some bodies, all the more unusual given that both materials are unsuitable for use in the construction of ammunition. Investigations are set to continue. Media, Police, Politics The controlled withdrawal of the Armed Forces has been of little interest to the media who seem keen to focus on the emerging record of The Constabulary with regards the city. Since the fall of Castelan a thirty percent rise in reported crime has been noted. Advisors are keen to point out that this may be due to the public’s willingness to deal with a public police force rather than a private one, but others have been less kind. Rumours have begun to emerge that certain members of local government are commenting on the lack of efficiency of the new force when compared to Castelan, although this is far from the official party line. Media, Police, Street The hunt for the individual known only as “The Samurai” continues, with reported sightings once again focussing on the Shelton area off the city. The Constabulary are keen to apprehend the individual, who is still wanted in conjunction with the assassination of Sean Bowden. Meanwhile former supporters of “The Samurai” are now asking for the individual to hand themselves over to the police following video evidence taken from CCTV showing him fleeing the location from which the shots were fired. Occult, Street The CCTV footage of “The Samurai” is bogus, that location is covered by dozens of cameras yet none were found to be working in the vicinity apart from the one that has been used to produce the evidence. And I can’t believe the theory that each one had been taken out with the same rifle beforehand (and that furthermore, no one heard this happening) that the police seem to putting forward. High Society, Media, Police, Street, Underworld The fire bombing of Chico’s nightclub may have been the work of “The Samurai”. An individual of the same description was seen on the vicinity of the former nightclub shortly after the attack. Police continue to investigate the bombing for fear that criminal and terrorist groups may be using the current confusion caused by the switch between Castelan and a public police force to try and gain a further hold on the city. Finance, Occult, University The occurrence of the numbers 6, 8 and 12 at various points about the city is causing confusion in many groups, not least of all mathematicians who are keen to establish if there is any pattern linking them. Numerous theories have so far been put forward, including everything from the relationship of a cube (six sides, eight nodes and twelve edges) through to the possibility that it is a Vigeneres Square sequence, although for what no one seems quite sure. Bureaucracy, Health, Legal, Media, Politics The arrest of former Castelan Operatives continues, although more than a dozen of the most senior executives still remain at large (and are believed to have fled the country). However, the arrests continue to cause problems as the cities jails are near saturation point due to overcrowding. More worrying for the authorities is the rise in the number of suicides amongst the existing prison population, especially by slashing their wrists rather than the more usual method of hanging. Investigations into the reasons behind this are to be carried out. Police, Street, Underworld Despite the rise of general crime levels within the city, crime attributable to the Daughters of the Desert has actually fallen. In an unusual step the group seems to be making an attempt to legitimise all of its businesses, despite a marked fall in the efficiency of local policing. Other major players do not seem to have been affected by a new found sense of responsibility, with both the Sandernacht Group and the re-emerged Gambino’s once again beginning to lay waste to each others empires. Bureaucracy, Health, Police, University Specialists from the city’s university continue to work on the searching of Castelan’s headquarters, following the initial discovery of military grade chemicals on the premises. Matters have been further complicated as the investigative teams have moved further into the (partially) demolished building. Exploration of what are believed to be key areas (such as the detention facilities) has proved impossible due to doors into these areas being locked from the inside. Fears are mounting that individuals who may have being held illegally will now have died due to lack of provisions within the facility. Specialist cutting teams are being brought from outside of the county in order to gain access. Bureaucracy, Finance, Industry, Legal, Media, Politics The loss of both GAOM and Castelan as major employers has further destabilised the financial status of the city as local government attempt to find funds. Further complications have been caused by the inability of lawyers to successfully freeze former GAOM bank accounts in order to fund the works. Works in Kidsgrove have not been affected however following Reed Communications decision to plough their Insurance Monies into the rebuilding of the community and use capital held by the company to rebuild there facilities. High Society, Media, Police The bombing of Chico’s Nightclub seems to only have been the start of a campaign against the cities recreational / meeting places, with further bombings occurring in a number of locations (including the cities museum and library). So far little headway has been made into possible culprits by the investigating team (although the chief suspect remains “The Samurai” following the evidence found at the Chico’s bombing). In the meantime security has been increased on a number of premises for fear of more violence. Church, Media, Police Churches in the Leek / Endon area are to hold a Service of Thanksgiving following a further month passing with no murders by “The Endon Butcher”. It is now believed that “The Butcher” may have been killed in December’s events, although this is of course subject to further investigation. In total some seventy three individuals were believed to have been murdered by “The Butcher”, although police fear that the number may indeed have been higher if he continued to act during Castelan’s attempted coup.